Even though the proposed smoking ban in the Indiana House of Representatives has been amended to exempt most bars, local restaurant and bar managers said they were never worried about it.
Co-owner of Doc's Music Hall Michael Martin, a non-smoker, said the issue has never been something he has ever thought about a lot. He said he would like to see a statewide smoking ban, but doesn't like to see the government interfere with business owners.
The smoking ban originally would affect all enclosed public places, including restaurants, bars, casinos and bowling alleys. It has since been amended to allow all casinos, some bars and some hotels exemption from the ban.
A statewide ban would be OK, Martin said, because every business would be on the same level. If he decided to implement a no-smoking rule on his own, he would no longer be able to compete with other bars.
"If we voluntarily did it we'd lose a lot of business," he said, "because people would go where they could smoke."
Delaware County has had a smoking ban since 2006, which prevents smoking in restaurants, bowling alleys and bars that serve food. Free standing bars are exempt.
Tony Payne, manager of the Locker Room, which has been smoke-free since Delaware County's ban, said a state ban wouldn't matter much to local businesses because the county already has one. He expected to see a permanent statewide ban soon, he said, and wasn't worried about it.
Like Martin, he said he thought the decision should be up to individual business owners whether to allow smoking.
Payne said the Locker Room's business hasn't seen a decline because some people like to go to establishments that don't allow smoking. He said he has seen a few businesses that have been hurt by the ban, however.
Scotty's Brewhouse isn't one of them.
Scotty's trainer Shauna Larson said the customer base was good enough to prevent any decrease in business after the ban. She said nobody at the restaurant was worried about the ban because customers have never cared about the smoking policies.
"Customers never had problems stepping outside to smoke," she said.
The ban is eligible for a vote in the House and would move to the Senate if passed. No date has been set for the vote.
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